Mel B says Simon Cowell was her "rock" during her tough times.
The Spice Girls star has opened up about the alleged abuse she suffered in her marriage to Stephen Belafonte and how it left her feeling suicidal, and she has credited the ‘America’s Got Talent’ boss and her bandmates with helping her through.
After ‘Heart Breakfast Show’ host Jamie Theakston asked about a reference in her new book ‘Brutally Honest’ to earning £80 million over two decades, she opened up on the impact money can have on a relationship.
She said: "I was married for 10 years and most of my work is in America and Australia so you know aside from my lovely Spice Girls, I am quite an independent money earner and I love earning money.
"And that’s also a form of control, also for your partner because they put you out to work so you can’t think straight.
"But luckily I love what I do and I love my work and that’s why I’m so happy – you know people like Simon Cowell – even though the girls didn’t quite realise it also – they were very much my rock in the midst of all of this. But they didn’t know the truth because I was embarrassed."
Jamie’s co-star – and Mel’s bandmate – Emma Bunton praised the candid memoir and admitted it left her in tears.
She added: "It’s amazing. I cried through the whole thing by the way. And then Mummy Bunton read a bit yesterday and cried, I was like ‘Oh my goodness’ – it’s just heart breaking."
Mel, 43, has been outspoken about her relationship with manager and ex-husband stephen, who has "denied all the allegations against him".
The star – who has Phoenix, 19, with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, 11, with Eddie Murphy, and seven-year-old Madison with Stephen – admitted earlier this month she attempted suicide at her lowest point four years ago, and she was motivated by her eldest child to work on getting better.
Reflecting on waking up in hospital after an overdose, she wrote in the book: "’Mom. What the hell?’ Phoenix was standing by my bed. Furious, shaking, full of rage. Of all the memories from all those hours, it is the one that still floors me. ‘Why, Mum? Why? Why?’ It was the saddest moment of my life.
"All I ever want is for her to know how sorry I am, how lost I was and how I’ll never, ever abandon her again.
"Looking at my daughter — distraught, devastated, angry — was the moment I knew the fightback had to start."
Mel B: Simon Cowell and Spice Girls were my rock
